(Deming) -- The Deming Wildcats defeated the Las Cruces Centennial Hawks tonight in District Semi final High School basketball. Now the Cats will advance to the district championship game Saturday night away at 7 against Santa Teresa.The Wildcats now have a record of 20-7… 5-2 in district. Top scoring for the Cats:Eric Saenz - 10Phillip Longoria - 10Dominic Saenz - 9Orlando Ortiz - 8Ernesto Saucedo - 4Gerome Sandoval - 4Richard Regalado - 1Deming shot 17 out of 22 free throws… Scoring 2 three pointers both by Orlando Ortiz.Cats had 8 turnovers and 31 rebounds.

Deming Ladycats #1 seed in the district will be hosting the district championship game Saturday in Deming. The Ladycats will be playing the Santa Teresa Lady Warriors at 7pm.

(Deming) – U.S. Border Patrol agents in Deming kept over 320 pounds of marijuana from hitting the streets Tuesday despite the driver of the vehicle ramming a service vehicle in desperation. At about 5 p.m. Tuesday, an agent saw a suspicious vehicle driving westbound on State Road 9. After requesting a check on the Chevrolet truck and receiving discrepancies, the agent activated emergency lights and tried to stop the truck. The driver then made a U-turn and proceeded eastbound in an attempt to elude the agent. The truck headed south on an all-weather road near mile marker 65, and came to a stop just north the U.S./Mexico boundary. As the Border Patrol agent positioned his vehicle behind the truck, the driver of the Chevrolet put the truck into reverse and struck the agent’s vehicle.

That’s when several people exited the truck and ran the short distance into Mexico, leaving behind 15 bundles of marijuana with a street value of over $259,000.

(Deming) – Here’s the area crime report: John Castro, age 21, was charged with aggravated assault on a household member, aggravated assault and on a U.S. District Court warrant… Epigmenio Escalante, age 25, of Columbus, was arrested for burglary and larceny… Esteban Gonzalez, age 58, was arrested for trespassing and drunkenness. Joel Ochoa, age 37, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to appear and on a Municipal warrant for failure to pay fines… and William Smyer, age 33, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to pay fines.

And in other news… two tires valued at $100 each were slashed at a location off North Platinum… and a bicycle valued at over $100 was taken from a residence off West Third.

Deming) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 12 New Mexico counties – including Luna – as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the recent drought.The counties are Luna, as well as Bernalillo, Grant, Sierra, Catron, Hidalgo, Otero, Socorro, Dona Ana, Lincoln, Sandoval and Valencia.Farmers and ranchers in 11 other counties in New Mexico also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.Those counties are Chaves, Eddy, McKinley, Santa Fe, Cibola, Guadalupe, Rio Arriba, Torrance, De Baca, Los Alamos and San Juan.The USDA says farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses.Also, a producer meeting to update local farmers and ranchers on available programs and changes will be held on Tuesday, March 5th from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the USDA Farm Service Agency Deming office at 405 East Florida.

DEMING, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a pilot is dead after a small plane crashed in Deming.New Mexico State Police say the plane went down Wednesday night near State Road 26 in an open area away from any structures.Federal Aviation Administration officials reported getting a distress call from the pilot saying he was losing his vision. They then lost contact with the pilot.Authorities say pilot Carl Link was the only person aboard the plane. He was pronounced dead at the scene.They say Link had recently moved to New Mexico from Missouri.His age and hometown in Missouri and residence in New Mexico aren't immediately available.Authorities say the cause of the crash is unclear and State Police will continue to investigate.

(Deming) – Here’s the area crime report: Mickal Roberts, age 62, was arrested for DUI and driving while license was suspended or revoked… Erik Garcia, age 18, was arrested for possession of marijuana and three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia… Javier Garcia, age 23, was arrested for driving while license was suspended or revoked… Crystal Rodriguez, age 23, was arrested on two Magistrate warrants for failure to pay fines and on a Municipal warrant for failure to appear… and Jaime Dubois, age 60, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to pay fines. Also… $350 in criminal damage was reported to a window and shed door at a location off Laurel Road Southwest.

Government Officials Offer Editorial 2/27/13 11:30a(Deming) – The two top government staffers in the area have offered an editorial pertaining to the Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act and its potential effect on the Gila River. City Administrator Rick McInturff and County Manager Kelly Kuenstler reportedly co-authored the editorial which says that the Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act of 2004 provides for up to 14,000 acre-feet of water to be diverted and consumptively used in New Mexico. The editorial says this water is the last new water the southwest corner of New Mexico will ever have available for current and future uses. It continues that if the four-county area of Luna, Hidalgo, Grant and Catron don’t take advantage of the right to use the water, it will be used elsewhere in the state. The editorial says water diverted from the Gila River under the act will be monitored to comply with strict diversion limits that only allow flood flows to be captured. Deming Headlight editor Bill Armendariz said the editorial can be read in its entirety in tomorrow’s (Thurs) Deming Headlight.

(Deming) – Four Grant County residents have been charged in connection with the shooting at a Luna County rest stop last Monday during which a Las Cruces man was injured. Lead Investigator Israel Saenz, Junior, with the Luna County Sheriff’s Department said the shooting occurred after a set-up robbery went bad. Charged with the shooting was 31-year-old Nathan Rowland of Silver City, who was one of the state Corrections Department’s Most Wanted Offenders and who was arrested last week on outstanding warrants. Also charged with the shooting was 33-year-old Salvador Sepulveda of Bayard. But the key player appeared to be the woman with 44-year-old Eric Arzate of Las Cruces when he was shot. The woman – 38-year-old Martha Ramos Cano of Hurley – admitted to setting Arzate up for a robbery at the rest stop. She told investigators that Arzate, whom she described as a friend and former boyfriend, always had cash. Apparently the robbery set-up had been planned for several days. Saenz said Arzate may have resisted the robbery attempt, and that was what prompted the gunfire. Arzate received at least one gunshot wound to the back, but was released from an El Paso hospital last Thursday. The fourth arrestee – 26-year-old Ashley Ortega of Bayard – was charged with conspiracy. Officials say at least one more arrest may be made in the case.

Boxing Equipment Burns 2/26/13 11:22a(Deming) – Approximately $10,000 worth of boxing equipment burned in a metal building fire Monday afternoon. The equipment belonged to the Old School Boxing Club and organizer Pepe Montoya, and the fire occurred in a metal building behind a home off Country Club Road that was being used for the youth boxing program. A Luna County Sheriff’s Department report said it appeared that a teen dumped fireplace ashes behind the building, and some hot coals started dried grass on fire, which heated the metal building enough to ignite the contents. The fire erupted at about 2:20 p.m. Monday, and firefighters from the Deming Fire and Sunshine Volunteer Fire departments responded.

(Deming) – Here’s the area crime report: Jesus Rivera, age 40, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and injuring or tampering with a motor vehicle… and Manuel Hernandez, age 44, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to pay fines.Larry Wolfgram, age 64, was arrested for DUI, negligent use of a firearm, speeding and no insurance… David Hayward, age 31, was charged with battery against a household member… Ashley Ortega, age 26, of Bayard, was arrested for burglary… Rita Lopez, age 32, of Tucumcari, was arrested on a Quay County warrant for embezzlement under $2,500… Ralph Hernandez, age 26, was arrested for resisting or evading an officer.

Rudy Uzueta, age 45, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to appear and on a Dona Ana County warrant for failure to pay fines… Jesus Barron, age 25, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to pay fines… Alejandro Dejesus, age 51, was arrested on a Municipal warrant for failure to appear… Victoria Lee, age 26, was arrested on a Municipal warrant for failure to pay fines… and a 14-year-old boy was cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana at Deming High School. Also… windows valued at $8,000 were damaged on two buildings at the corner of Pine and Gold after being shot with a bb or pellet gun… a laptop computer and 65 DVDs were taken from a semi-truck parked at the truck stop… and a stereo, speakers and an amplifier with a combined value of nearly $1,000 were taken from a vehicle parked off North Eighth Street.A television valued at $850 was taken from a residence off South Silver… a laptop valued at $700 was taken from a location off South Ruby… $200 dollars in criminal damage occurred to a road grader parked near Sunshine and McCan roads; nearly $200 in diesel fuel was taken from the road grader as well… and $300 in criminal damage to a door frame occurred at a business in the 100 block of East Spruce after the door was kicked in.

KDEM-FM and KOTS-AMare affiliated with the Associated Press news network and carry AP network news, followed by local and state news at the top of the hour, 24 hours a day. We are truly Deming’s “information stations” and the stations Luna County residents depend on for news, hometown happenings, weather, sports and agriculturalinformation.

Persons named on the Crime Report are to be considered innocent until final disposition of the case is made by a court. ____________________________